What Are Steam Achievements?
Steam achievements are in-game milestones that get permanently recorded on your Steam profile when you complete specific tasks. They might reward you for finishing a game, defeating a difficult boss, discovering a secret, or playing for a certain number of hours. While they offer no in-game reward, they're a powerful way to track progress, challenge yourself, and show off your gaming accomplishments.
How Achievements Work Technically
Developers integrate achievements using Steamworks, Valve's developer toolkit. When you trigger an achievement condition in-game, the game communicates with Steam's servers to unlock it. A few things to know:
- Achievements are tied to your Steam account, not a save file. Reinstalling a game won't remove them.
- Most achievements require an internet connection to register, though some games store them locally first.
- Achievement rarity is shown as a percentage — this reflects how many Steam players who own the game have unlocked it.
Finding Your Achievements
To view your achievements for any game:
- Open your Steam Library and right-click the game.
- Select "View Achievements".
- You'll see all unlocked and locked achievements, plus global completion percentages.
You can also view achievements on your public profile under the Achievements tab, where others can see your total count and rarest unlocks.
Achievement Rarity: What the Percentages Mean
Each achievement shows a global unlock rate. These are generally categorized as:
| Rarity Tier | Approximate Unlock Rate |
|---|---|
| Common | Above 50% |
| Uncommon | 20% – 50% |
| Rare | 5% – 20% |
| Very Rare | 1% – 5% |
| Ultra Rare | Below 1% |
Ultra-rare achievements on popular games are impressive landmarks — often requiring enormous dedication or skill.
Tips for Achievement Hunters
Plan Before You Play
Before starting a game you want to 100%, check a guide on Steam Community Guides or PSNP/TrueAchievements-style community sites. Some achievements are missable — you may need to make specific choices or avoid certain actions.
Use the Achievement Manager (Carefully)
Tools like SAM (Steam Achievement Manager) exist to manually set achievements, but using them violates Steam's Terms of Service for most competitive or VAC-protected games. For single-player games, Valve generally doesn't police this, but it undermines the spirit of achievement hunting.
Check for Glitched or Bugged Achievements
Some achievements have known bugs that prevent them from unlocking. Always check the game's Steam Community Discussions if an achievement doesn't trigger — there's often a workaround.
Use the "Nearest to Completion" Filter
On your Achievements page, you can sort games by "Nearest to Completion" — a great motivator for knocking out games where you're close to 100%.
Showcasing Achievements on Your Profile
You can display your most impressive achievements on your public Steam profile:
- Go to Edit Profile > Featured Showcase.
- Select "Rarest Achievement Showcase" to display your hardest unlocks.
- Or choose "Achievement Showcase" to display total count across all games.
Is Achievement Hunting Worth It?
Achievement hunting is entirely optional and deeply personal. For many players, it provides a structured reason to explore every corner of a game. For others, it adds unnecessary pressure. The best approach: aim for achievements in games you genuinely enjoy, and let the rest happen naturally.